Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Karsavina, Tamara

(Encyclopedia)Karsavina, Tamara təmäˈrə Kərsäˈvyĭnə [key], 1885–1978, Russian prima ballerina. Karsavina was trained in the Imperial Theatre School and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, making her...

Adams, John Couch

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John Couch, 1819–92, English astronomer, grad. St. John's College, Cambridge, 1843. By mathematical calculation based on irregularities in the motion of Uranus, he predicted the position of t...

Yourcenar, Marguerite

(Encyclopedia)Yourcenar, Marguerite märgərētˈ yo͞orsənärˈ [key], 1903–87, French writer, b. Belgium as Marguerite de Crayencour. The first woman elected (1980) to the prestigious French Academy, Yourcenar...

Blondel, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Blondel, Maurice, 1861–1949, French Catholic philosopher, b. Dijon. He was a professor at the universities of Montauban, Lille, and Aix-Marseille during his influential career. Like his contemporary...

Sarraute, Nathalie

(Encyclopedia)Sarraute, Nathalie nätälēˈ särōtˈ [key], 1900–1999, French novelist, b. Ivanovo, Russia, as Natasha Tcherniak; studied at the Sorbonne and Oxford. A lawyer, she joined (1925) a Paris firm. Sh...

Vienne, town, France

(Encyclopedia)Vienne, town (1990 pop. 30,386), Isère dept., SE France, on the Rhône River. It is a farm trade center with textile, metallurgical, and footwear industries. The capital of the Allobroges, Vienne (th...

Clement IV, pope

(Encyclopedia)Clement IV, d. 1268, pope (1265–68), a Frenchman named Guy le gros Foulques; successor of Urban IV. He was a lay adviser of King Louis IX of France, but after his wife's death he entered the church....

Getz, Stan

(Encyclopedia)Getz, Stan, 1927–91, American jazz tenor saxophonist, b. Philadelphia, as Stanley Gayetsky. As a mature musician he was especially known for his “cool” jazz style. He began playing as a teenager...

Giacosa, Giuseppe

(Encyclopedia)Giacosa, Giuseppe jo͞ozĕpˈpā jäkôˈzä [key], 1847–1906, Italian dramatic poet. After Una partita a scacchi [a game of chess] (1873) won him his first success, he devoted himself to playwritin...

González de León, Teodoro

(Encyclopedia)González de León, Teodoro, 1926–2016, Mexican architect, b. Mexico City. After studying at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (1942–47), he was a draftsman (1948–49) in Le Corbusier'...

Browse by Subject